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Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Female Genital Mutilation: A Human Rights Issue

Female genital mutilation is a term used to describe injury to, or partial or full removal
of external female genitalia when it is not medically necessary. FGM violates
the right to physical integrity, and health and safety. It is a life-altering, life-threatening
act of violence. FGM has been illegal in the U.K. since 1985, but enforcement remains
problematic.

Female Genital
Mutilation and the Law

In the U.K., FGM has been a criminal act since the Prohibition
of Female Circumcision Act of 1985. The Female Genital Mutilation Act of 2003
closed a loophole that allowed girls to be taken abroad for FGM.

The act covers the following offences:

·to excise, infibulate, or otherwise mutilate the
whole or any part of a girl's labia majora, labia minora or clitoris;

·to aid, abet, counsel or procure a girl to
excise, infibulate or otherwise mutilate the whole or any part of her own labia
majora, labia minora or clitoris;

·to aid, abet, counsel or procure the performance
outside the UK of a relevant FGM operation.

Exceptions are made for medical personal who deem the
operation necessary, but only for health reasons. Penalties range from fines to
14 years in prison.

Enforcement of Female
Genital Mutilation Act

Although there has been progress since 1985, enforcement remains
inadequate. Girls who undergo FGM are usually under age 18, and are frequently
victims of other crimes, including sexual offences and forced marriage. Young
girls who fear retaliation are reluctant to cooperate with prosecutors. Teachers
and school administrators have a hard time detecting cases of FGM, since it
often occurs before a girl enters the school system.

Due to the secrecy involved, the crime is under reported and
statistics are lacking. The Department of Health estimates that 80,000 girls
and women in the U.K. are at risk of FGM.

Authorities are facing increasing pressure from the public
to fully enforce the Act – with or without the cooperation of the victims.

A Victim Speaks Out

Thirty-year-old Aissa Edon was a victim of FGM at the age of
six. She tells how two people held her down as another performed the cutting on
her and on her one-year-old sister.

"I have a memory of the pain, the blood, my sister
shouting and my own shouting because it was so painful. It is like a bad dream but
it is in my memory for life," she told The
Independent. "I was always in pain for years as I had a problem with
my bladder and urinary tract because of the Female
Genital Mutilation and I had to have an operation. […] I want to
help other ladies. I feel complete but I don't want girls to go through
this."